Federal officials stopped the attempted smuggling of two Uzbek nationals who illegally crossed the border from Canada into New York. The effort led to the arrest of a U.S. citizen who officials say was transporting them.

Contents: Massive China-Pakistan CPEC energy project said to end energy crisis ‘soon’; Skeptics claim that CPEC will only benefit China, not Pakistan; Pakistan will use dark financing to cover the cost of protecting Chinese workers

Jihadists linked to the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) have joined the ranks of the Taliban in Afghanistan, a source at Tajikistan’s State Committee for National Security (SCNS) told the Russian state-owned TASS news agency.

Protesters in Afghanistan stormed the presidential palace in Kabul on Wednesday, carrying the coffins of seven civilians from the Hazara Shiite minority, recently beheaded by Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL)-linked terrorists.

Contents: Russian troops may take control of Tajikistan’s border with Afghanistan; European Union agrees to terms in exchange for Turkey’s help with refugees; Hungary closes the border with Croatia; Polls show British voters more willing to leave European Union; Turkey’s president Erdogan ridicules Europe over refugee crisis

Federal prosecutors told a jury on Tuesday that an Uzbekistan refugee, 32-year-old Fazliddin Kurbanov, had embarked on a “pathway to terrorism” after converting to Islam after our refugee program brought him into the U.S. from Central Asia.